To advertise vehicle leases over the Internet, it is known in the art to provide consumers with estimated lease payments for non-specific vehicles. In one prior art example, LeaseStar.com (http://www.leasestar.com) has offered a lease quoting engine for dealers via the Internet since about 2000. LeaseStar.com uses ADP's w.e.b.Desking, which offers lease quoting via an Internet-based system available to dealers nationwide.
In another prior art example, LeaseCompare.com (http://www.leasecompare.com) has offered lease quoting since about 2001. Using LeaseCompare.com, a consumer can compare estimated lease payments for non-specific vehicles via the Internet. The consumer fills in fields of a webpage by selecting the year, make, model, and style of a vehicle. The consumer also enters a credit score, an odometer reading, and mileage allowance. Furthermore, the consumer enters the sticker price of the vehicle, the selling price (i.e, the negotiated price) of the vehicle, and the down payment. When the consumer selects a vehicle make, model, and style, available options can be displayed for selection by the consumer. Also, the base current retail value is automatically input for the selected vehicle. Based solely on the entries made by the consumer, LeaseCompare.com determines lease quotes for the vehicle specified by the consumer. Each quote represents an offer from a lender. By clicking on a quote, the consumer is given a webpage of disclosure details, which include the term, mileage allowance, residual value, money factor, mileage penalty, gap insurance, acquisition fee, purchase option, security deposit, disposition fee, and total due at signing from the disclosure details webpage, the consumer can access a webpage to apply for credit.
Automobile dealers and others advertise estimated lease payments via the Internet because advertising actual vehicle lease payments on a specific vehicle over the Internet presents a number of challenges. For example, several variables that change with market conditions are required to calculate accurate vehicle lease payments. The variables include vehicle residual values, money factors, lending program guidelines, consumer credit ratings, consumer location, and attributes of the vehicle (e.g., odometer reading, age, options, etc.). Furthermore, vehicle lease payments must be advertised with federal disclosure information. Regulation “M” (12 C.F.R. §213.7) implements the consumer leasing provisions of the Truth in Lending Act and requires meaningful disclosure of leasing terms advertised to consumers. Under the consumer-focused legislation of Regulation M, automobile dealers must properly disclose actual numbers of all the factors used to calculate a lease payment. Due to these challenges, automobile dealers and others may find that advertising actual lease payments to consumers on specific vehicles in a dealer's inventory via the Internet to be too complicated and may simply elect not to advertise actual vehicle leases to consumers via the Internet. Therefore, a need exists for a system and method that allows automobile dealers and others to advertise vehicle leases on specific vehicles to consumers via the Internet.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.
While the disclosed system and method are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. The figures and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner. Rather, the figures and written description are provided to illustrate the inventive concepts to a person skilled in the art by reference to particular embodiments, as required by 35 U.S.C. §112.